The total value of Canadian building permits jumped 10.4 per cent from July to August, with gains largely due to higher construction intentions in the residential sectors of Ontario and British Columbia. 

After two straight monthly declines, total permit activity in BC was up 15.9 per cent in August, once again surpassing $1 billion in total value. The gains were almost exclusively due to higher construction intentions for multiple family dwellings.  Those gains more than offset a 7.7 per cent monthly decline in non-residential permits. On a year-over-year basis, the dollar value of building permits in the province were up 4.5 per cent. 

Construction intentions were higher in most of BC's four census metropolitan areas (CMA). Permits in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA surged 249 per cent from July to August but were down 7 per cent year-over-year while the Vancouver CMA saw a 15 per cent increase on a monthly basis but a 12 per cent drop year-over-year. In the Kelowna CMA, permits fell 13 per cent from July but were up 67 per cent year-over-year.  In Victoria, construction intentions rose 9.3 per cent on a monthly basis, and were 58.5 per cent higher than in August 2015. 

Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.